“Understood.”
Together they hiked to the porch, up the steps and to the door. Ryan fumbled around in his pocket and found a key. Jasper’s mother kept a spare and Jasper had instructed her to hand it off to Ryan for the time being.
Inside the home, Tori set her things on the floor, her gaze traveling up and over the log walls and ceiling. The home featured a large open kitchen with soapstone counters and stainless steel appliances.
In the living area they found custom wood-carved furniture to go with the cabin. Tori sighed. “Okay, now this is my dream home. I never had a dream home before. Sarah wanted a house like the bungalow she got.”
No, you didn’t have a dream house—just a dream job...
Crossing her arms, Tori strolled through to the great room, where she stood in front of the panoramic window with a view of Mount Shasta. “Yeah. Dream house.”
Ryan moved to stand next to her and take in the view.
“Just breathtaking,” she said, then eyed him. “Okay, Ryan. You’ve ruined me. I didn’t know I was missing anything until you brought me to this house.”
Tori smiled. Her golden hair and green eyes with that mountain in the background... Um... Yeah... Breathtaking. The mountain alone couldn’t do that for him. A knot lodged in his throat.
Why had he let this woman get away from him? In his heart, he’d known that she had to leave and take the opportunity presented to her, but it made his heart ache to think of how he had let her go and not tried to persuade her to stay. She’d never even asked him to come with her, so he hadn’t presumed she wanted him to.
There was the old adage—If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never yours at all.
Tori obviously hadn’t been his to begin with.
She’d had to make her dreams come true. So he’d been right to simply let her go, even if he’d been crushed and then allowed anger and resentment to take root.
But he was done with that, he hoped. He was glad that she’d achieved so much. Not many people had the strength to go after their dreams with such single-minded determination.
Ryan didn’t trust himself to speak, so he kept quiet.
Tori angled to look at him and offered a soft smile that did uncontrollable things to his heart.
“All I know is that I’d better not get used to this place because I’m not going to be here that long and it might be painful to leave if I get too attached.”
He chuckled. “Sometimes you can’t help getting attached.”
No matter the effort put in to stay disentangled. Her eyes flashed with emotions, and he sensed that she’d understood his deeper meaning. See, he shouldn’t have trusted himself to speak.
Her expression turned serious. “You’re going to find the person responsible for Sarah’s death and the attacks on me just like you’ve reassured me repeatedly.”
She was obviously trying to redirect him. Refocus him back on task. No pressure there. He found himself searching for the right response when the doorbell chimed. Perfect timing.
“Ah, that must be your protective services,” Ryan said.
Tori’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you were my protective services.”
Was she disappointed? He had the strong feeling that she was, and that was too much to process. He had the sudden urge to kiss her, which just told him he needed to step away. “I have to investigate, remember? And find this guy, just like I reassured you.”
Emotion swirled in Tori’s eyes and she appeared speechless, which might be a first. Wow. Entirely too much chemistry brewed between them. Was it because they had nearly lost their lives multiple times? Traumatic events had a way of pushing people together, making them closer under pressure.
He opened the door to let in a female deputy who would stay with Tori. Admittedly, he’d brought Deputy Shawna Reiser into this to free himself up not only to investigate, but to put distance between himself and Tori. And now part of him wished he hadn’t, but that was only because his emotions were getting in the way, which should never happen. Tori had to know that his heart was getting involved when it shouldn’t, and as much as he wanted to protect her personally, it was more important that he solve the murders. An emotional involvement on his part would jeopardize the investigation.
Now he was glad he’d made the decision ahead of time. He found Tori in the kitchen eyeing the bananas. “I thought you said they were on vacation. Why are there fresh bananas on the counter?”
“Jasper’s mom knew we were coming and stocked a few items.” Ryan hadn’t liked that even one more person knew about their current location but it couldn’t be helped. “I’m heading out. Remember to let me know if you learn anything new.”
She peeled a banana. “I’d appreciate the same consideration. That will help both our efforts.”
“Will do.” He left her in the kitchen and headed for the front door. Shawna stood there, waiting. “Don’t forget to lock up. Check all the windows and doors and keep an eye out. I don’t expect any trouble, but this guy is determined and we can’t be too careful.”
He opened the door to step outside.
“Detective Bradley,” Shawna spoke in low tones. “Ryan...”
Shawna and Ryan had some history—a short time of seeing each other before they’d realized that they would make good friends but nothing more. She’d been hurt in the past, as had Ryan, and neither of them had been truly ready to move on.
Hesitating, he shut the door. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes. This house is far too big to adequately protect someone, don’t you think? And the windows? She’s far too exposed here. Whose idea was this?”
“I understand your concern,” he said. “But it was the only house available and you have to admit that it’s far
